Maintenance Log: 205k-270k s70 rebuild before being totaled Topic is solved

[FireFox31]

The no-starts this summer stemmed from a corroded ground wire to the block, so I replaced the whole negative terminal wire.

Was this the braided copper wire(s) from the block to the firewall? One broke on my 2000 V70 and the car wouldn't start. I made new ones from thick wire and ring terminals. I recommend everyone check and replace those two wires (one by the top motor mount, one on the passenger's side, both reaching back to the firewall). They may look fine but could crumble to nothing when touched, preventing the car from starting. I had wanted to produce a bunch of them but never got to it.

[smacknab]

Been about a year, the s70 recently hit 270k. Two big-ish jobs this last year: the rear calipers and the alternator.

The calipers were a little over 4 years old- NAPA rebuilt units and one of the first things i replaced on the car. I'd noticed the noise and reduced braking for while but thought they just needed some anti-squeal paste so I was putting it off. When I finally got in there with my FCP Lifetime replacement rotors and pads ready I found both rear units were frozen, each with one pad down to the backing plate. I was in a pinch due to work travel so I put in O'Reilly calipers that were on the shelf in town. One hard brake line fitting was rounded on the caliper so I bent and flared a new hard line, which then led to the two soft lines that sit on the delta-link needing replaced. Flushed the whole system after and front calipers seem fine so we're alright there. If i could go back to 2019 I'd use better calipers but financially that wasn't realistic at the time so it is what it is.

The alternator died on a 4 hour drive from NYC to PVD back in June. Battery died before we got out of the Bronx and I figured out it was the alternator, but my wife needed to be back for work so I threw a new battery in (with a warranty guarantee) and was able to get all the way across CT without the alternator charging. It died again on the CT-RI border but within my AAA tow range so I called a tow and an Uber so my wife made it to work on time. While in the Uber I ordered a Bosch alternator from FCP, thankfully I had some credit on my account from the brake job. I swapped the alternator as well as the brand new but now dead battery with the warranty and its been fine since. Since replacing the alternator the AC works consistently again and the dead throttle stalling issue seems to have gone away, so the alternator must've been on its way out for awhile.

The alternator was a bit of a final straw for me and I decided to buy a low mileage 2020 Honda fit so there is at least one new car for my wife to use with confidence. Despite the last 3-4 years/60k miles being fairly reliable (so reliable that I shifted my focused to my Ranger project and neglected checking on wear parts like the brakes) my life has shifted. My work travel ramped up to the point where I need a peace of mind that I'm not leaving for weeks for my wife to choose between two 25+ year old cars. I currently still have the Volvo but with the other issues (the tailpipe fell off from the muffler back, rust on top of the windshield and in the passenger footwell, the antenna snapped off, repeated SRS light, etc) I've decided to not put any more real money into it.

Before the inspection sticker expires I'll either donate it through Abscate to a local trade school in his area, or fix the SRS light one last time and sell it for scrap value to a friend who is an international student in New Haven. It has new brakes, 1-year-old tires and a fairly new suspension among many other things listed in this thread but I'll make sure its a safe car for him if I go that route.

So thats about it- I bought it almost exactly 5 years ago and put a little over 65k miles on it. I learned a ton about working on cars and have enjoyed the education and support of the community here so thank you to everyone, especially Abscate who cut out a dog leg for me when i did the rust work and lent me his engine hoist when i replaced the clutch. As I said before this little project has turned into a hobby for me where I've built the confidence to maintain an old Ranger while I rehab my house and even taking on engine swapping it and getting into tuning and more custom work. My college friends and I now consistently get together to help work on each others vehicles. Not to be corny but despite the stress of maintaining old vehicles its been somewhat therapeutic endeavor.

To the title of this thread- I think its for everyone to decide for themselves but for myself I'm declaring this all worth it.

[volvolugnut]

Life lessons with cars:
Learn about cars while working on cars you drive.
Failures are lessons if you learn from them.
Your car work will generally save you money.
Car repair confidence will help you try other repairs.
Have at least one more vehicle than you need so you can work without rushing.
volvolugnut

[jmartin919]

What do you mean by "fix the SRS light "?

[scot850]

The SRS can get triggered by playing with the cabin electrics (particularly the seats) without disconnecting the battery. If however, it keeps coming on without out that, there is an issue with the air bag/restraint system that will need addressed.

Neil.

[abscate]

Did you get that clock spring fixed? I’ve still got the spare on Shagg, and I have to get her out of the driveway before winter. I’ve got $1000 budget for my car donor program.

If I get my Lawyer fired up , I can also accept it as a charitable for FMV as a running car…. $2000 or so?

[smacknab]

Welp, the car made it about 24 hours out of my ownership.

Thankfully the driver is okay and safe, and it was a one car accident so nobody else injured. Friend who bought it either zoned out or took her eyes off the road and hit the rumble strip or left median and then overcorrected and shot it up an embankment. Ended in the bushes at the top so she didn't crash hard full speed into anything, but overall looks like the car held up pretty well.

She was moving all of her gear with the back seats down (I took the lower rear seat cushion off and jammed it behind the front seat) so she got really lucky none of her tools or gear flew into the back of her head. She had originally wanted to buy a light truck so I'm actually glad she was in the s70- based on the story she told me I believe she would've rolled a Tacoma or Ranger with much worse results.

Sad way to see it go but I learned a lot from the car and I suppose it served it's purpose as a cheap safe-ish beater that can go out like this with little financial consequence.

[Clemens]

sad to see another one go, but at least it served the driver as the engineers intended ...

[abscate]

Ouch! I took it hard when Shagg saved me from injury in CT last fall.

[scot850]

Glad the new owner was ok. I have had the opportunity to thank Volvo for their toughness in the past and walking away un-marked.

Sorry about the car, but thankfully it did it's final job well.

Neil.